I’m aware that I haven’t updated this blog lately, and I apologize, my life has pretty much taken over. (Ha! A very cliched reason!) Since then I’ve found my muse (which takes away a lot of my free time, ironically), I’ve been traveling quite a bit, been working quite a lot, and I’ll be moving back to Melbourne very soon, which leaves little time for blogging.

But worry not, I’m not going anywhere.

For significant/recent art and work updates I’ve set up another wordpress site: Amel’s Work and Play

For random and not-so-important drawings/projects/photo updates, you can still find and follow me on instagram.

Draw symbolic stuff, like flourescent clouds or rainfalls of broken hearts that symbolizes deeper meanings. (Shout out to my singing friend!) My stuff is like, face value, literal. A rock is a rock, a pretty girl is a pretty girl, a sausage is a sausage… it’s not a symbol for a penis, you dirty **** you. Am I blunt, unrefined, do I lack analytical skills, or artistic depth? I guess I’m just doing shit that I like and not thinking too much when I draw/create.

Draw hipstery / trendy stuff. My style is comic-like, I like bright colors, I like semi-realism, I don’t do minimalism, selective colors, or juxtaposition very well.

I like simple shit, don’t make me do robots and cybernetic shit, something involving running horses, monsters, mutants, gore/blood, or a medieval war scene, that’s out of my league. I’m a tomboy girl in appearance and mannerism, but apparently when it comes to art, I’m a girly girl. I like drawing pretty pictures of pretty people. I like drawing outfits. I like drawing simple everyday situations. Color me shallow.

A few years back I wrote a note on FB (not here on this blog) about “things I wanna do when I turn 30” and now I am pleased say that I’ve done them all! Crossed all the checklists!

Here’s what I originally wrote, and my additional notes from 2013 are in red.

1. Get up earlier everyday (and consequently go to bed earlier every night)Because they said the older we get, the less sleep we will need. Anyways, they also said that it’s healthy to get up early, and it doesn’t hurt to have some extra time in the morning to do stuff.

Note: Done. My resolution backfired. Now I’m an insomniac and I generally sleep from 12-4, do stuff, then sleep again 7-9.

2. Have better and more fulfilling workFriends and employees, this does not necessarily mean jumping ship. It’s not that my recent one suck, last year was really slow and I just feel that I need more challenges and I need to be waaay more busy than I already am right now at work. Colleagues, can’t you see I’m knitting to pass the time? I am a born workaholic and I intend to keep it that way! All that said, I hope this year will be a busy and prosperous and soul-fulfilling one.

Note: Soul-fulfilling? Please! I am completely happy with what I’m doing now. Freelancing is one of the best things I’ve done in my career. Jessie was right. It’s not all about the money. As I get older, I realized that time is just as important.

3. Exercise moreYou have to grow old healthy and gracefully. So, before my metabolism rate goes way slower with age, and I turn into an obese blob on a motorized scooter, right now I’m considering these 3 (Gym location) options. Friends, help me choose!

Note: I now exercise 3-4 days a week for minimal half an hour! F yes! And I don’t even need a gym!

Note: September last year I went cold turkey and did not smoke at all for 4 months. Now I smoke a cig or two every 2 weeks, which I (gracefully) steal from my smoker friends, so think about it, I’m actually doing them a favor. Seriously though I need to quit for real!

5. Do acoustic cover songs on YouTube AKA running out of important resolutions.OK, this one is totally irrelevant, but there is a part of me who wants to be famous anonymously on the internet and rise to Marie Digby level of popularity. What the heck.

Note: Yes, I did covers on Youtube. I recorded some, then I realized that I can’t sing 😦 Well, then I did a few more songs with me not singing, which turned out 100x better, but unfortunately my youtube partner is currently away in America. So I think I need to find other ways to be famous on YouTube.

Here you can see my handsome 6×8 Wacom Graphire 4 drawing tablet, decorated with various tattoo shop stickers, just the way I like it. It is my third tablet, it’s a f*cking workhorse, and I have been abusing it for the last 7 years or so (lol) and never ran into any problems, until recently I came up with this glitch while using it?

The cursor f*cking shakes on its own!
I put my pen on the surface and the cursor does its own crazy jittery dance!

It’s quite exhausting really, you go to a nice cafe to work on illustrations, plugged in your wacom and it harlem shakes like mad… Then you had to settle the bill and go home!

So I googled and interference seems to be the culprit for many people. One guy even had extensive testing to find the solution to the same problem, but to no avail! Alas he was on Windows so I had to run a little test on my own!

Reinstalled driver to newest version – Jittery
Using another pen – Still jittery
Using tablet alongside wireless USB mouse – Jitters
Took off the USB mouse – Still jitters
Using tablet in my room, 2m away from wireless router – Jitters, but only at daytime (???)
Using tablet in the living room – Jittery
Using tablet in living room, routers turned off – Jittery!
Using tablet in a cafe near a very loud arisan ibu2 – Jittery
Using tablet while listening to bad dubstep – Instant jitters

The only way to stop the jitters is to unplug the tablet, wait a few minutes, then use it again until it eventually jitters again and you repeat the process.

I don’t know what I should do anymore, tried googling but different forums have different answers, but with looming illustration and layout deadlines, I just can’t be effed trying all the different methods, so my temporary solution is only use the wacom tablet in my bedroom for now, where it shakes the least! That sucks, because I’ve told you before that working in your bedroom in your pyjamas while watching TV and petting plush python dolls is very counter productive.

“Buy some more crap online!” Valentine is distracting me while I try my best to work

The good news is, I might not need a solution because I have plans to get the Intuos 5 Medium touch as replacement. With 4x more pressure sensitivity, tilt sensor, function wheels and buttons, and smexy, sleek black looks, I really can’t go wrong with this purchase. I hope that it will be another long-lasting investment. The only downside is I had to wait for another 5 weeks or so because I’m buying this from Australia and I’m getting my sister to take it home to Jakarta *evil laugh. You won’t believe it, but Indonesian RRP is about $70-120 more expensive compared to US/AUS prices depending on the tablet model.

July can’t come any sooner! If anyone has a solution feel free to contribute!

(Long, irrelevant essay incoming! If you want to see my latest DIY project, skip to the second last paragraph, please.)

For every hello, there will be a goodbye.

People enter your lives for a reason, a season, but not for a lifetime.

I used to have a friend. An interesting friend who always have an interesting opinion. It was like, 2008, and we were in my car heading somewhere and she suddenly went into this thought provoking subject.

She said that each of our lives are like lines constantly traveling over time. We were born into this world separately in our own time, we eventually meet one another by chance, and when it’s time, we all will separate and go our own way. Just like in a graph, where two parabola lines converge, intersect, and then move away from one another.

I nodded while I steer the car in equally confusing late afternoon traffic, pretending that I understood half of what she just said.

She went on, demonstrating the converging lines with her hands, “So, picture your life as a line constantly moving on an angle, then other people’s lines enter that line of your life, both lines intersect, you spend time with that other person, then when it’s time, (dun dun…) the lines separate, they eventually get further away and leave. And when they leave, it means their role in taking part and influencing our life is done. We don’t need them anymore and they don’t need us either. Then it’s time to move on.”

“Ah, I get it, yeah it’s kinda sad but I get it… It’s like chapters in a book or acts in an opera.. Hurr durr”

“Life is all about those intersections.” she said. “And how you make the best out of your time with each person you have the chance to interact with.”

“Because before you even realize it, they will move further away and be gone, like forever, in the constantly moving parabola-equation-graph-thing of life”, I added. (I sucked at describing stuff! How did I even graduate high school as a science major in the first place?)

“Right you are.”

“Then you’d say that every relationship has an expiry date? When the other party’s role is done in the story of your life?” I asked.

“Right on. That’s why I don’t friend my exes after the breakup. Not IRL, not in Facebook, not anything. When it’s done, it’s done”, she said, crossing her arms with a smug expression.

Here’s my latest DIY project. I thought that my DIY orange wallet was pretty sick and I decided to pimp my plain canvas shoes the same way. You can see that it’s decorated with converging and intersecting lines, which have, like, deep personal meanings about relationships with expiration dates.

To my ex-friend: Hey A, thanks for the friendship, it was awesome while it lasted and you know it 🙂

Well I previously mentioned what a pain in the butt working at home can be. These last 3 weeks I’ve been trying my best to work at home, in my living room, with a standing fan, sans air conditioning!!! To my surprise it isn’t that bad, except I’m more prone to masuk angin.

Also by staying at home for a longer time, I get to work out daily on my shitty ghetto broke ass home gym. Because I have fat genes and for some reason since I quit smoking last September I’m gradually gaining weight. Duh! Wanna see my home gym? Sure.

Ta-daaaa

Introducing my late Opa’s oh-so-vintage exercise bike, made in early 1980 something (older than you)!

GUYS AND GIRLS I’M GIVING THIS BIKE FOR FREE!

(Bike only, not iPod, sheep or weights)

WHY? Because I want a non-noisy, colorful modern bike that goes with my colorful weights. Yes I’m that shallow. Deal with it. And I know Sheep would approve so. So if you live in Jakarta and you’d like have the bike, just message/call/text me to arrange the pick-up. Yes, I’m sorry, pick up only, no delivery, and since it weights a ton, you’re gonna need a car to take this BABY home.

Look you can also move the handles back and forth like an elliptical machine! In case you’re wondering, this bike still function perfectly, except for the broken speedometer. So what are you waiting for? Maybe you know someone who would love to have this bike? Here’s your chance to help a sister do her spring cleaning and stay healthy.